This article first appeared in the May/Jun 2013 issue of World Gaming magazine.
It has been a big few months for poker in South Korea with both the Asian Poker Tour (APT) and Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) holding events there in early to mid-March.
The biggest of those was undoubtedly the APPT event which was held at Paradise Walkerhill Casino in Seoul and attracted a healthy field of 222 players.
In the end it was Australian Aaron Lim that proved victorious, grinding his way through a tough heads-up battle with Chane Kampanatsanyakorn to take home the 121.7 million Korean won first prize, or around US$109,000.
However, it was the deep run of Chinese girls Sixiao Li and Xuan Liu that caught the eye. Proving that poker has truly become the domain of all and sundry, the pair both reached the final table and at one stage looked like they could even go head to head for the title. With five players remaining, the action slowed right down with none of the remaining players wanting to give an inch before Li was eventually eliminated in fifth. Liu followed her to the rail soon after although both girls took home more than US$33,000 for their efforts.
A big field gathered for the inaugural APT Korea event
Just a few days before the APPT event, the first ever APT Korea event was wrapping up at the Royal Palace Casino inside the Jeju Oriental Hotel.
A total of 166 players took their seats with the hope of claiming the title but in the end it was Canada’s Ryan Tack Yu – who happens to be of Korean descent – taking home the US$30,100 first prize.
(From left to right) Ryan Tack Yu shows off his trophy at APT Korea and Aussie Aaron Lim wins APPT Seoul
The other big news in poker across Asia in recent months is that City of Dreams will become the new home for PokerStars Macau. Having temporarily based themselves at the Grand Waldo for the past year, the new room at City of Dreams will boast 13 permanent tables and host major tournament series such as the Asia Championship of Poker (ACOP), Macau Poker Cup (MPC), Macau Millions and APPT Macau festival of poker.
